NEWS

The Maraimalai Nagar municipality has served a notice to SRM university for letting out untreated biomedical waste in the open, polluting ground water in the surrounding residential areas. The university's 250-acre campus has a hospital, engineering college, hostels and a 3-star hotel. Municipality executive officer A Bhaskar said the ground water samples collected by its sanitary inspectors tested positive for bio-medical and other wastes and that the university was found to be a source of pollution. Some 400 families in the surrounding residential areas of Sammudeeshwar Nagar, Shanmugapriya Nagar, Adi Parashakthi Nagar, Narasimha Nagar and Valli Nagar had complained right from the local body to the chief minister's cell about the pollution. Used syringes e , cotton and other medical wastes lying around is a common sight here. Sometimes, there is an overwhelming smell in the area," S Haji Syed Amirjan, a resident for 42 years in the locality said. Residents said they are solely dependent on one-hour supply of Palar water by the municipality, as water in the wells in the locality have turned unusable. "I've raised the issue in the municipal council several times," said
K Perumal, councillor of ward 21 under which the university falls.